Where I’ve been…and where I want to go

Wow! I cannot believe 2010 is over and we are full-swing into 2011. 2010 was possibly the best, and worst year, of my entire life. Let’s just say that from the beginning of 2010 to the end, my life completely changed. I went from sitting at a desk 40+ hours a week in a not-so-fabulous job, to waking up at 4:30 a.m. and training clients day in and day out. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I LOVE being able to help people achieve their goals, the transition was just crazy and the change has been a process. I typically do not believe in looking backwards, but sometimes we have to remember where we’ve been to know where we want to go. With that, I want to give a quick overview of my year…

The bad…

I lost my job, then Stephen lost his – yikes!

I didn’t run a marathon 😦

I lost contact with a lot of friends through the process of starting a new career

I wasn’t able to visit my family in the Midwest

The good…

I started a new career that I LOVE

We adopted Bentley 🙂

Stephen and I BOTH rebounded from our job losses and are doing better than ever

There were many, many other ups and downs, but I felt these are the most significant because they help me to understand what I’ve been through, what I want to change, and what I want to focus on for 2011. And believe me, there’s A LOT I am excited about for this year!

First off, one of the blessings of 2010 was a part-time job with lululemon athletica. When I was hired I imagined lots of pants folding, spandex wearing, and basic retail. Then I went through training and realized this was FAR from a retail job. lululemon really focuses on goal setting, reaching goals, becoming a leader and taking responsibility and accountability to a whole new level. It’s been amazing and I have learned a lot about goal setting and really making a plan that’s attainable. Here are some of my goals for this year…

Run a Boston Qualifying marathon time – there, I said it. I KNOW I can do this, it’s definitely in me. I am a bit nervous about the potential changes in qualifying times, but I will cross that bridge when I get there. For now, I’m focusing on running a strong, hard marathon and getting a Boston Qualifying time.

Start a running group – so already on this on so many levels!! At this point, nothing is set, but there are many things in the works and all I have to say is it’s going to be EPIC!

Run 11 races this year – at least one a month, so far I’m behind for January, but I have a feeling I’ll make it up in March 🙂 Shamrockin Half and Oakland Half anyone??!

Blog, tweet and network more! This blog post is a start!

Combine all three levels of fitness into my training – Endurance, Strength and Mind and Body…this is a whole post in itself

Train 30 clients a week at 24 Hour

Spend more time with friends and family I have lost touch with. Sadly, this is a huge one. I missed a lot of events, races and fun because of my hectic schedule.

So, how do I plan to accomplish all of this?! I have some insane motivation going into this year, and a few more tricks up my sleeve to keep me on track and on pace. Here’s a breakdown…

DO IT NOW! I am such a huge procrastinator, especially if I have some extra time (which is rare). I’ll piddle around the house or stalk around on Facebook – wasteful! I have started telling myself to just do it now (I have stolen this from lululemon btw).

Hard. Core. Scheduling. I have an actual, physical book that I write everything down in. Monday-Sunday, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. I write down every minute of activity. When I’m working at 24, when I’m working at lululemon, when I’m taking Bikram, when I’m running, EVERYTHING! And it’s truly helpful.

Combine workouts with friends. I have been pretty good about this when it comes to running, but I’m starting to take Yoga with friends and co-workers, schedule workout sessions with friends, etc. It’s a great way to catch up, and get a workout in. BOOM!

Make time for myself by just saying NO. This is a big one for me. I’m always telling people “sure! no problem! what time do you want to meet?” etc. Enough. I need to say no and make my own dreams come true. I give a lot of myself to everyone else and I need to know it’s OK to say no so I can get my own workout, run, or nap in.

Make time for the things that matter most. One of lululemon’s manifesto sayings is “That which matters the most should never give way to that which matters the least” – a great reminder that life’s little upsets don’t always matter in the grand scheme of life.

And last but not least…WORRY LESS!! If I had all the time back that I stressed out and worried over things I couldn’t control, I probably would have trained for and ran a full marathon. Not even kidding. Worrying is such a waste of time, and my time is valuable, so I’m making the most of it and making an effort to worry less!

8 responses to “Where I’ve been…and where I want to go”

A blog post!!!! YAY! 2010 was quite the year for you guys, but you made it through and have ended up much happier! Can’t wait for 2011 and so excited to be a part of some of your goals. It’s going to be an EPIC year!

Really love this post and even more LOVE catching up with what’s going on with you. Great stuff and I have no doubt you will make it. But add another – bring Lululemon to the UK – at least the mailorder? we NEED it.

Wow, 2010 was busy for you but so glad to see it ended on such a high, positive note! Your 2011 goals look awesome – you are such a determined person I know you will accomplish them all. Excited to follow you this year!

After spending the time to look back on the past year, it is quite hilarious to me to watch all those times that I “freaked out” about things only to have everything worked out. You are my go to for questions 🙂 since my next few steps are a bunch of large ones!